Rack for holding venetian blind slats



Mardi l1, 1952 F. MORRIS ET AL RACK FOR HOLDING VENETIAN BLIND SLATS 2 SHEET-S--SHEET l Filed Jan. 16, 1950 INVENTOR FRED L. MORRIS ARTHUR vv. PETERSON ATTORNEY March 1l, 1952 F, MORR|S ET AL 2,588,557

RACK FOR HOLDING VENETIAN BLIND SLATS Filed Jan. 16, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 lll FRED MORRIS ARTHUR W PETERSON l#7J-i4; 8% l n,

ATTORNEY INVENTOR Patented Mar. 11, 1952 asassvf RACK ron` HOLDING VENETIAN'BLIND sLA'rs Fred L. Morris and Arthur W. Peterson, Portland, Oreg.

Application Januaryl, 1953, Seria'lNo; 138,746"

2 Claims.

Our invention relates to racks for holding Venetian blind slats and is particularly adapted for holding the slats while being painted and cleaned.

The primary object of our invention is the provision of a holding rack for supporting the slats of Venetian blinds while paint is being applied to all of their surfaces.

A further object of our invention is the provision of an auxiliary holding and drying rack for holding the slats of the Venetian blinds while they.

are drying after being painted.

A still further object of our invention is to provide a holding rack for the slats of Venetian blinds that can be adjusted to any size of slat.

And a still further object of our invention is to provide a rack or hanger for Venetian blind slats wherein the slats may be hung on to the hanger after which a mechanism is provided for solidly locking the slats thereto or releasing them, or either hanging the slats on the hanger or removing them.

These and other incidental objects will be apparent in the drawings, specification andzclaims.v

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of our newand improved Venetian blind slat holder, having.v a number of slats applied thereto to be painted.'

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view of the slat holding units, the mechanism partially broken away for convenience of illustration, also the slats are shown in section.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of the lever mechanism for tightening the holding brackets within the rope slots of the slats.

Figure 3A is another preferred form of slat holding bracket.

Figure 3B is another preferred form of slat holding bracket.

Figure 4 is an end view of our new and improved slat holding racks for holding the slats while painting the same, also the auxiliary holding and drying rack is shown being pushed into position for receiving the slats after they have been painted.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the auxiliary rack for holding the slats while drying.

Figure (iv is a fragmentary detail view, taken on line 6-6 of Figure 5 of the holding mechanism for gripping the slats.

Figure 7 is a plan view, taken on line 'l-'l of Figure 5, illustrating the mechanism for holding the slats.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary view of the frame of the auxiliary rack, partially broken away for convenience of illustration.

Referring more specifically to the drawings:

Our newand improved rack for supporting slats of Venetianrblinds consists of base members I and 2, having atransverse rod 3 passing through the specialv lttingsll. The supporting members I` and '21 may be adjusted-towards or away from oneanother ori-releasing the locking bolt 5. Extending upwardly from .the fittings i are vertical supporting legs 6.

Tubular frame members l are pivotally connected to the legs 6 at B by frictional engage ment. Adjusting screwsglhincrease or decrease the tension of the friction plates permitting the frame to be pivoted thereabout to either a vertical, inclined or .horizontalposition The ends of the frame l have a fitting II) through which the bar Il operates and is .locked at the desired position by the locking screw`- I2. A tube IIA is slidably mounted within the fitting IBA and is adapted to receive the bar Il, which is locked in relation to the tube by the locking screw I2.

The frames I are preferably made from tubular material. Secured to the frames 'l are supporting brackets I3, preferably in the form of spring stock. These brackets pass through the walls of the frame-.i and threaded therein and locked thereto by the lock nuts I4. They also havea shoulder I5-fwhichspaceszthem relative to the frame l, although WeA do not wish to be Y 22, which are pivotally mounted to the quadrants 23 at 29 and have pawls 25 engaging the ratchets 26 of the quadrants. Whenthe blind slats are placed on the rack the arms IS are moved to the dotted position, referring to Figure 2. The slats are then hung onto the supporting brackets I3 by way of their rope slots 21.

After the slats are hung on the brackets I3, the lever 22 is raised pivoting the arms I6 to the full line position, springing the brackets I3 and placing a tension therein, thereby gripping Y the blind slat securely between the brackets I3 and the arms I6. The ratchet pawl engages the ratchet teeth 26 holding the lever and the connecting link 20 against the tension created within the brackets I3. The slats may then be painted from all sides, the frames 'l may be tilted about their pivot points bringing the frame to any desired angle, or to a horizontal position.

When it comes time to remove the slats from the holding frame, the pawls 25 are released from the ratchet teeth 26, permitting the lever to allow the link 20 to lower releasing the arms lr6 from the ends of the slots 21 so that the slats may be removed from the brackets I3.

Referring to Figures 4 and 5, we have illustrated a receiving rack to remove the slats from the holding rack above described. The receiving rack consists of a rectangular frame 28, which consists of two side members 29 and cross members 30 and 30A. The cross members consist of a tubular section 3| and bars 3 IA. The cross members 30 and 30A slide freely within the fittings SIB and are locked to the desired position by the locking bolts 32. This provides adjustment for the different lengths of Venetian blind slats.

The frame 28 is mounted on a wheeled base 33, which may be wheeled up towards the primary slat holding rack above described, this is illustrated in Figure 4. Supporting brackets 34 are iixedly secured to the side frames 29 and 29A. The side frame 29A is rotatably mounted within the fitting 35 at its lower end and is controlled by the lever 36 at its upper end. The lever 36 is pivotally mounted to the cross frame 30A at 3i. The position of the lever being determined by the pawl 38 engaging the ratchet 39 of the quadrant 40, which is xedly secured to the cross member 30A.

When the brackets enter the slots 21 of the blind slats midway the length of the slot, the lever 36 is moved in the direction of the arrow, which 1** causes the brackets 34 to bear against the sides 4I of the slots 21 gripping all of the slats with a tension created within the brackets 34 and the action of the lever 36 revolving the side frame 29 as indicated in Figure 7.

After the slats have been transferred onto the secondary frame 28, the same is rolled away from the primary holding frame so that the other slats may be placed on the said primary frame and painted while the previous slats are dried on the frame 28.

Although certain specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is obvious that many modifications thereof are possible. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except in so far as is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A rack for supporting Venetian blind slats, comprising a frame having parallel side bars, spaced apart substantially horizontal pairs of pins respectively extending from each of said side bars for insertion through the respective rope slots in the slats, one of each pair of pins being resilient and fixed to the bars to engage one edge of each of the slots, the other of each pair of pins being movably supported, and means connected to all of said movably supported pins for simultaneously adjusting said pins to releasably engage the opposite edge of each of the slots to hold the slats rigid.

2. A rack for supporting Venetian blind slats, comprising a frame having parallel side bars, spaced apart substantially horizontal pairs of pins respectively extending from each of said side bars for insertion through the respective rope slots in the slats, one of each pair of pins being resilient and fixed to the bars to engage one edge of each of the slots, the other of the pins of each pair being adjustably mounted to releasably engage the opposite edge of each of the slots to hold the slats rigid, a link pivotally connected to all of said adjustably mounted pins on each side bar, a lever pivoted to said frame and to said link, and means for releasably holding said lever in selected position and thereby hold said pins under tension against the opposite edges of the slots.

FRED L. MORRIS. ARTHUR W. PETERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 684,097 Quigley et al. Oct. 8, 1901 1,452,821 Allen Apr. 24, 1923 1,698,318 Norton Jan. 8, 1929 1,913,611 Ornsteen June 13, 1933 2,258,391 Novitsky Oct. 7, 1941 

